Heaven on Earth....

This month, I reflected on the past year, I reflected on the relationships I have and those that have held strong for so many years, and took advantage of some much needed moments in Charleston, SC for Thanksgiving. Nature at this place is nothing more than perfection....a true place to embrace all there is and be thankful for all you have. Heck...I was feeling lucky to have even had the opportunity to sink my toes in the sand of this place! More than anything I felt at peace with no worries on my mind just relaxation and contentment.  Not to mention some much needed girl time with my bestie and there is nothing like getting back to the "old times" hanging out like we used to :o)

I can honestly say, after coming back from my trip I feel inspired. My energy, creativity, and drive is back at full throttle and I cant wait to be able to let loose and expose it all !! that's right, im going to EXPOSE my creativity like a naked banana without its peel.  So....

Unfortunately, as I sit back at home alone in my apartment, this creativity is stuck in neutral as there is not much of a way here I can let out and be creative, but for Christmas I am able to at least capture some of it in my potential gifts to family :o)

As everyone who knows me best will know....I love to take pictures, I love to design and think up great ideas and DIY projects, and I am highly driven when it comes to my goals and aspirations. Being in Charleston over Thanksgiving gave me the opportunity to take great pictures, think up new design ideas and appreciate all the architecture and peaceful beach settings, and inspire me to keep striving toward my goal in life. It was exactly what I needed to get me back on track.

Flying into Charleston was amazing, the second I was able to see the ocean I couldn't help but feel at ease with a smile on my face. I flew in on Thanksgiving day. I hadn't seen Ashley since she came out to see me and I was so excited to see the life she has made for herself in this beautiful place. Though I knew I was missing Thanksgiving with family, I also knew having Thanksgiving with my bestie was going to be unforgettable. My family for the holidays is normally split up in several different directions anyway that it was nice to have just ONE place to go, with one meal to enjoy, with no hectic mess of tons of people. Just me, my bestie, and her friend Nikki. Small, quaint, and relaxing!

We had all the basic Thanksgiving goodies, mash taters, turkey, stuffing, gravy (with a ice cream scoop as we had no other utensil to dish it out haha), green beans, mac n cheese, wine etc....oh and Ashley made this delicious Cheesecake to top it all off! it was a great little feast for the three of us.

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing, we were to head out and see "Breaking Dawn" that night...this is a BIG deal BTW and I am sad to report that I was overall disappointed and I am now hesitant to see the PART II. The new director overall did not do justice to a few of the scenes and some scenes the way they were done resembled something out of a horror film. A little graphic and somewhat nauseating and there were parts I was like (really? where did that nonsense scene come from?). Anyway, I am being told that seeing it a second time is a little better so IF I decided to spend the money we shall see.

That night, Ashley introduced me to this site called Pinterest. oh yeah...addicting. This site has everything you could possibly think of. This site was made for me! They have all kinds of little DIY projects that are so easy and makes you think "Wow! why didn't I think of that!?", it has great recipe ideas, beauty and hair ideas, inspiring photos, traveling ideas and photos of exotic places, it basically introduces you to so many things and I cannot get away from it.  So the remainder of the night was playing around on that haha!

Friday was a full day of EXPLORING!! we went to the Battery, so much history behind this place. Famous for the antebellum houses which is my favorite part but it was First used as a public park in 1837 and became a place for artillery during the American Civil War. A little more of a history...there is a monument in White Point Gardens that commemorates the hanging near that site of pirate captain Stede Bonnet and his crew in 1718, as well as the 1719 hanging of Richard Worley's pirates. The monument states that 29 of Bonnet's crew were executed close by.  Interesting huh? thanks Wikipedia!!!

Next stop...to continue walking around toward downtown. Walking around this place is AWESOME!!!! cobblestone streets, slate sidewalks, gas lanterns hanging outside buildings....and I saw so many of this historical homes for sale, so tempting if only I had the means to buy one!

Notice the gas lit lantern :o)

 Carriage Ride!!

 These are "Palmettos" not "Palm Trees" Because they do not carry coconuts

 Cobblestone Street, drove down this last year and it was FUN

Sooo...we decided throw some humor in and go on a planking and Tebowing adventure. Not sure we did it right, but there is no mistake of what it is we are doing. haha

That was too much fun!!
we made our way up this pier, there were actually dolphins swimming out yonder and I tried to get some pics, but they kept going in and out of the water and I was unable to capture it :o( I did get some birdies that were on the pier enjoying the day walking around like they owned the place haha!

There are so many little shops and hole in the wall restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. Each building is unique and there were some great photo opportunities so I made Ashley be my guinea pig in the process of our walking adventure back to the car hehe. It was time for lunch and she took me over to California Dreaming that was right off the harbor. Gorgeous!!! and the food was amazing.

I could eat with a view like this every night of the week!

She wanted to take me to the main downtown shopping district, but first she took me down this amazing road covered in willow trees (pretty sure that is what they were). It was like being in a Nicholas Sparks Movie! Of course I had to have her pull over so I could take a few pictures. Then back on track on our way downtown, It was also black Friday so it was extremely difficult trying to find parking. Everything was full. We ended up finding a place on the far northern side, but at least we found something eventually. And then we were off...first looking for an ATM to pay for parking then getting the shopping experience in. We didn't shop  much however, we just walked...and we talked mostly. And...I took pictures some more ;o)

 We found a little bakery shop and got cake pops!

 These stairs in between two buildings. 

I would have missed it if I hadn't seen people walking up them :o)

I am not sure how many miles we walked at this point, but it was a TON!!! Good thing I wore decent shoes :o) Before we knew it, it was time for dinner and she took me wanted me to try some true southern food so she took me to this place called:

 Fried Chicken, Mac N Cheese, and sweet Tea was a perfect combination and the ambiance of this place was so CUTE!!

And... as if we hadn't had enough exercise for the day, we were planning an going out as well to do some dancing that night! and I must mention the weather was still gorgeous, even at night!

We got our dancing boots on!!!

Twas a night of bar hopping and a few drinks. Not enough to feel anything though, we stayed pretty sober. Met some military boys, talkative as all get out of course and Ash was soaking up the attention, as she should!!! We ended up leaving them high and dry though after they wanted to go back to Ashley's place after the bars closed haha!! Men honestly surprise me these days with the way they approach women, but then again we were in a bar scene so I couldn't expect anything more. I enjoyed the different bars there though, they had a lot of character and every one of them was different with their own unique vibe. I am just glad we got to dance a bit :o)

Can you believe all that was just for Friday!!? I haven't even started on Saturday which was just as equally AMAZING only this time we spent most of the day at the BEACH! can you believe it, a day at the Beach in November!! Totally Heaven on Earth. Ashley lives 5 minutes from Folly Beach, but she wanted to first take me to Sullivan's Island where the beach there was more secluded and less touristy. We went to Breakfast with Nikki at the Charleston Cafe where I met the owner and had some great French Toast! Great start to the day to come :o)

So...Sullivan's Island. On the drive there we passed some houses backed up to the marsh with docks and boats right off their doorstep. Beautiful. Once we got there and parked,We rolled up our jeans, took our shoes off and went strolling on to the beach! She was right, this beach was more quiet and peaceful with not many people roaming around. Between the sand hills, the calm ocean with a slight breeze, and breathtaking views with the sun shining down on my face could not have been more prefect of a moment for me. We wrote in the sand, walked around, took more pictures. Words cannot even describe:

Can I move here yet???

Next stop...the pier beneath the bridge. 

Next stop: Menchies Frozen Yogurt!!! Better than PinkBerry I might add. Mmmmm!!

Can you guess what comes next?? more BEACH!!! Folly Beach this time :o) More touristy, but still very much enjoyable. We actually got see a wedding on the beach. Placed smack right in the middle of beach with tons of random strangers around lol. That photographer will have to do a ton on photoshop on those pics!! My favorite aspect to this beach, was the pier.

 I saw this couple at the pier, thought it was cute...as they just gazed out into the ocean :o)

Yup, look at all our hard work!! ha!! j/k totally not ours, but pretty sa-weet nonetheless!

My favorite piece from the weekend, just love this!!

There are some dreamy beach houses we got to drive passed on our way back to Ashley's place. One day...I WILL have a beach house here. We spoke about coming out for a week over July 4th and renting a beach house. If we can get enough peeps to join in, this could be a blast of a vacation!! The sun was setting and as it approached dinner time she made sure to take me to this great BBQ place called....welp I would tell you, but I don't remember and Ashley's isn't responding to my text so she will just need to comment below if you really want to know!! Anyway, the food was actually pretty darn good! It shall be such a shame to go back to Jasper without all these great food places! I could get used to this!

A lot was accomplished in two days, the night was ending and my flight was leaving early in the morning on Sunday. I was dreading going back to be honest. I loved it here. The night came and it went along with my flight the next morning....sad sad sad day. Even though time was short, I needed this to replenish myself and spend time with an important person in my life. Unforgettable was a great way to describe the weekend.

And before I forget, Check out the results of the Photos of Ashley that I took on our walking adventure:

Back to reality safely, back to the guinea pigs who missed me so, and back to work.

Its almost the end of the year, 1 month left to go. Hard to believe it. I go back home on December 23rd for Christmas and I am more than ready to high tail it out of here and see friends, family, my bestie again, and my Cliffy Cakes. Counting down the days for sure !!! December's blog should be another good one!!